John Sullivan will be speaking at All
Things Open (2016-10-26–27). His speech will be
nontechnical and the public is encouraged to attend.

GNU and Linux are now embedded in more kinds of hardware
than ever, but nearly always only by requiring proprietary bits. The
world’s most popular tablets and phones are based on a free core
system loaded with nonfree software on top. How do we get the freedom
we all want, and what is the market for that? The Free Software
Foundation has a certification program called “Respects Your Freedom”
(RYF) that awards a certification mark to hardware meeting a set of
free software standards (fsf.org/ryf). Embedded and IoT devices are a
major target for the future of this program.

RYF has already made significant gains, especially over
the last few years, certifying USB wifi adapters, 3D printers, home
wifi routers, and earlier generation laptops. Even bigger things are
planned, and most involve the embedded world. Get updates on what’s in
store, learn what it takes to get your product certified, hear about
the impact of certification so far and the community that has formed
around the program, and discuss possible improvements to the
standards.